[1] As civilian non-combatants, according to Section XI, Article 6, of the 1907 Hague Conventions, merchant seamen "...are not made prisoners of war, on condition that they make a formal promise in writing, not to undertake, while hostilities last, any service connected with the operations of the war.

In 1943 the Germans suggested an exchange of equal numbers of Merchant Navy prisoners, but this offer was refused by the First Lord of the Admiralty A. V. Alexander on the grounds it would be more to Germany's benefit, as it would provide them with a large number of men suitable to be used as U-boat crews, of which they were desperately short.

[3] Initially, prisoners from the Merchant and Royal Navy were confined in several camps in Northern Germany.

In July 1941 the prisoners of Ilag X-B were set to work dismantling their barrack huts at Sandbostel, then rebuilding them at Westertimke, finally completing the Milag camp in February 1942.

[4] In late 1942 all the ratings were sent to Stalag VIII-B at Lamsdorf and assigned to Arbeitskommando ("Work details"), and "M" housed only NCOs.

The area in between contained the guard house, a prison block, fuel bunker, and the camp hospital.

Prisoners ran courses in languages and mathematics, as well as commercial, vocational, economic and scientific subjects.

[6] A popular diversion was provided by the "Milag Jockey Club" which held race meetings every Saturday evening.

[4] At the end of 1944 prisoners evacuated from other camps began to arrive, resulting in overcrowding, and a reduction in food rations.

However that afternoon a detachment of over a hundred SS-Feldgendarmerie entered the camp, mustered over 3,000 men and marched them out, heading east.

Finally the Senior British Naval Officer offered the Germans the POWs parole, in return for being allowed to rest during the day and march at night.

[4] Meanwhile, the column slowly headed east, finally crossing the River Elbe, north of Hamburg, on 18 April.

The remaining prisoners responded to the threat of a pitched battle on their doorstep by digging slit trenches.

In 1946 Marlag "M" was used as a location to film Basil Dearden's POW drama The Captive Heart.

The northern part of Milag was eventually built over with new housing, while the southern half is now heavily wooded.

[4] Two officers; Lieutenant Denis Kelleher RNVR, and Lieutenant Stewart Campbell, FAA, escaped from Marlag in early 1944, wearing blue overalls to cover their uniforms, and managed to reach Britain within 22 days,[9] having been smuggled to neutral Sweden on a ship from Bremen.